Sea -Levels

"Celestial phenomena appear the same pretty much the world over, with a few exceptions. But, if a man in fifth century China saw a comet, chances are good people in fifth century Britain saw it, too. These astronomical records include, around the fifth century, mention of "dragons" coming out of the heavens and smashing into the earth. At about the same time, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records how the sun was "dimmed," or how the "stars showed fully nearly half an hour past nine in the morning." At about the same time, tree ring samples from Ireland show that their growth was stunted about the fifth century AD, possibly from lack of sunlight. Saint Patrick, who lived at about the same time, spoke of apocalyptic weather patterns "  -  

'According to data in 'The Subsidence of London' published in 1932, borings taken in the lower part of the Thames valley show that the land surfaces in late Neolithic times, about 2000 BC [the era of Stonehenge ], now lie between 60 and 70 feet below mean sea level. Even Roman remains under London lie about six feet below the Trinity high water mark. These discoveries mean that the whole geography of Britain was considerably different in ancient times when the great Megalithic monuments like Avebury, Stonehenge etc. were constructed. Any theories concerning the movement of stone from Mynydd Preseli in Wales to Salisbury Plain for Stonehenge must take into account the quite different topography.

'Many records are also preserved in a curious compilation, published in 1749 by Dr. Thomas Short, F.R.S. Titled 'A General Chronological History of The Air, Meteors, Weather, Seasons, etc., the treatise compiled during sixteen years of research, lists many strange and extreme events. Among them are the great earthquakes of Wales in AD 394, which 'made sad havoc', and the Cornish earthquake of AD 424, where there were 'great losses, many killed'.

'Geological evidence at Barry in South Wales, and at Chepstow, points to a subsidence of between 42 and 55 feet.

' The Roman historian, Marcelinus, who lived in the fourth century of the Christian Era, described the swallowing up of 'a large island' in 'the Atlantic Sea'. This has always been identified as Atlantis, though it may equally be a record of the disintegration of islands on the coast of Britain, including parts of the Scillies, which probably went down during his lifetime.  From Lost Lands and Sunken Cities

'The drowning of Mounts Bay is just one instance of a phenomenon visible all round the south - western promontory of Britain, once known as Dumnonia. In his 'Report on Cornwall', Sir Henry de la Beche remarked that 'submarine forests are so common that it is difficult not to find traces of them in the district at the mouths of all the numerous valleys which open upon the sea and are in any manner silted up'.

''If we turn to the Bristol Channel,' asserted the eminent geologist Sir Charles Lyell,' we find that both on the north and the south sides of it ther are numerous remains of submerged forests; .. one of those at Porlock Bay ... extends far from the land. There is good reason to believe that there was once a woodland tract uniting Somersetshire and Wales, through the middle of which the ancient Severn flowed. This estuary of the Severn is in reality the largest 'drowned valley' in Britain. The outline of it has been somewhat modified by tidal action, and erosion continues at several sites.

'All the evidence of geologists, antiquaries and archaeologists points to a permanent incursion of the sea having taken place at some time after the Roman period but before the end of the Middle Ages. The submerged coastline of the former Dumnonia, complete with its drowned valleys and forests, indicates some kind of major subsidence, perhaps as the result of an earthquake, must have occurred.   From Lost Lands and Sunken Cities

Rhys in Celtic Folklore discusses the many Welsh legends concerning inundations [he mentions a tidal wave in the early part of 1607].[p.426] From the early Irish annals he gives 'an aggregate of thirty - five lakes and forty - six rivers, that is to say a total of eighty - one eruptions ... under the heading of lakes I have included not only separate pieces of water, but also six inlets of the sea.' p.428 'It is interesting to note the fact that Celtic folklore connects the underground divinities intimately with water.

Apart from all the evidence for the sea level rising, rather than falling there is also the position of the Roman frontier to consider. After their invasion, the Romans established a frontier on a line from Exeter in the south- west to Lincoln in the north east. They built a road, the Fosse Way, to facilitate movement along this frontier. Glastonbury lay to the east of the Fosse Way, part of Roman Britain from almost the first, with access to the sea traversed by the main highway, the Fosse Way.